Death of Innocence
by Katja Deutsch
Summary: It is the end of Hermione's seventh year at Hogwarts. Ron and Ginny have died, and Harry is off looking for the remaining horcruxes, leaving her mentally unstable. Can a certain Potions master save her? Warnings: selfinjury, implied adult content
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: The wonderful JKR owns it all... I'm just playing.

Death of Innocence

Prologue

Hermione strode across the grounds of Hogwarts, head bent against the beating wind and rain, careful not to look back at the school that had been her home for so long. He had told her as much. "Remember, Hermione, don't look back. Come straight to me. I will help you." She smiled as his words rang in her head.

"Miss Granger, I suggest that you stop this reckless course of action at once."

Startled, she looked up, only to find herself staring up the long nose of Severus Snape.

"Pr- Professor Snape! I didn't expect to see you here." She faltered as his glare deepened.

"You are aware, Miss Granger, that Viktor Krum is a Death Eater?"

"Wha-- how did you know? What do you mean? Viktor would never hurt me. He's only going to help... it hurts so much."

"Seeing as it is against school rules for you to be out right now, not to mention the slightly inclement weather, I suggest that we adjourn to the school."

Her plans ruined, she collapsed on the ground. "It hurts. It hurts so much."

Snape looked down at the young woman at his feet, then grimaced slightly and picked her up. He was very surprised to find out that she weighed next to nothing. When she felt his touch, she yanked her wrists to her chest.

Striding swiftly, Snape found the portrait to his chambers in no time. Whispering "wolfsbane," he entered, only to find that he had a guest: apparently Albus had deigned to visit at this time of night.

"Ah, Severus. I knew you'd be here eventually. I see you found Miss Granger."

"Yes," he replied, setting the young witch down.

"Perhaps you can find a place for Miss Granger to sleep, seeing as she looks positively exhausted."

Hermione could only look on mutely as the two men spoke about her. She felt Professor Snape pick her up again, then found herself buried in the middle of a soft, comfortable place, and immediately fell asleep.

"Now then, Albus. Please tell me just how you knew that Miss Granger would be running away to Viktor Krum this evening. She was quite startled to find out that I knew where she was going."

"That must wait, my friend."

"You certainly picked a good time to send me off. I don't think I've ever seen a student look quite so much like one of the Inferi before. The deaths of her lover and her best friend really weigh on her hard, do they not?"

"There, you would be right, Severus. She has tried very hard to prevent us from finding this out, but she is in a bad state of emotion right now."

"Yes, and the Death Eaters will most certainly exploit this advantage. With wonder-boy's redheaded friend put out of commission, they will jump on the chance to play more with his emotions. She is in dire need of protection."

"She is safe at Hogwarts for now."

"Yes, for now, but term ends in a few weeks. Where will she go that is safe after her NEWTs?"

"We shall see, my friend. We shall see. I suggest you retrieve Miss Granger and return her to her rooms in Gryffindor tower."

Snape could tell he was dismissed. He picked Miss Granger up and stalked off to Gryffindor tower. It was a good thing he did not run across any students, for their house cup would be severely lacking in gemstones when they woke up the following morning.

Laying her down in her bed, he whispered, "Miss Granger, I hope you can learn to take care of yourself. This behavior is utterly unacceptable."

Despite all his best efforts, her gaunt face haunted him all the way to his quarters.

_It hurts so much._

A/N: I hope you all like it. Please review, this is both my first romance, and my first non-oneshot.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: See Prologue.

Death of Innocence

Chapter 1

The remaining weeks of the term flew by. True to form, Hermione passed her NEWTs with flying colors, earning a series of stunning remarks from each examiner. She found herself walking along the lakeshore, alone. "Maybe I can strike up an interesting conversation with the giant squid," she remarked dryly to herself.

While Hermione was reflecting on her loss of friends, two men were conferring high up in the castle above.

"Well, Albus, what are we going to do now? She's not a student any more, so we can't protect her that way."

"I agree, Severus. Perhaps we should implement the plan we discussed earlier..."

----------

Hermione started as she remembered that the headmaster had asked to see her at 10:00. Glancing at her watch, she realized that she just had time to make it, if she hurried. She ran off, up the wide, sloping lawn to the headmaster's office.

Bursting into the room, she gasped, "I'm sorry I'm late, Professor. I was walking and thinking and..."

"That is quite all right, Miss Granger. Professor Snape and I were just having an enlightening discussion. Please sit down."

She sat, curious why the headmaster had chosen to call her into his office on the last day of school. Surely there wasn't anything wrong.

"Would you like anything, Miss Granger. Tea, biscuit?"

"Oh, no thank you, Professor. I had quite a large breakfast."

Severus carefully held back a snort. He had watched her push her food around her breakfast plate, being very careful not to take a bite, but to make it appear as if she were.

"Well, then, I am sure you are wondering why I should call you down here on the last day of your schooling here at Hogwarts." She nodded. "I wished to talk with you about your plans after graduation."

"Oh." She sounded a little crestfallen. "I haven't really gotten there yet. I was really focusing on getting through the NEWTs. I'd heard that they were quite hard, and..." She trailed off, a tear forming in her eye. "I don't know, when Ron died, all my plans just..."

"Were you possibly considering an apprenticeship? There are always university studies as well," Dumbledore interjected, trying to pick up the conversation.

"An apprenticeship would be nice, I think."

"What kind were you thinking of, Miss Granger?"

"I was thinking of asking Professor McGonagall if she would take me as an apprentice. I've always done well in her class."

"As far as I know, Miss Granger, Professor McGonagall was already considering another candidate for apprenticeship. How are your feelings on Potions?" Dumbledore cast a sly wink in Severus' direction.

"I'd never really thought about that, Professor. I guess I have a bit of an aptitude –" Severus snorted, the girl had much more than a bit of aptitude. "But I don't know any Potions Masters that would take me..."

Severus decided that his turn in the conversation had come. Rising slightly from the black, shadowy corner he had placed himself in, he said, "Miss Granger, do you really think that my behavior toward you in class was an indication of your skill? Or perhaps you did not know that I happen to be one of the most certified Potions Masters in Britain?"

"I- I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't think you liked me at all. I didn't want to burden anyone that would mind me working with them."

"Miss Granger, I would be willing to help you pursue a mastery in the subtle, delicate art of Potions making."

"I guess it's settled then," Dumbledore added, "Miss Granger, Severus, are both of you willing to do this?"

"I'm still not completely sure, Professor. There's so much I don't know..."

"What concerns you about this, Miss Granger?"

"Well, I have no clue what is expected of a Potions apprentice."

"There I can help you," Snape interrupted, "In addition to assisting me with my classes, you would be expected to spend time in a lab, working out the finer issues of Potions: both the more complex potions, and the art of creating or modifying potions to achieve desired results."

"And where would I live? I don't have enough money to rent out a room in Hogsmeade..."

"Miss Granger, do you really think that we would offer you a position at Hogwarts without room and board?" Dumbledore seemed appalled at the suggestion. "You would have your own quarters within the castle, most likely down in the dungeons, near Professor Snape's own private quarters, so the two of you would have the ideal working conditions."

"I guess that settles all of my worries then, I would love this opportunity."

Hearing this, Professor Dumbledore pulled out a parchment from under a stack of scrolls on his desk. "I just happen to have a spare apprentice form here. Hermione, I need you to sign here," he said, pointing to a line on the sheet, "to confirm that you know what you are getting into. And Severus, you also need to sign," he said, pointing to another line, just below the first.

Hermione picked up the headmaster's eagle quill and signed her name on the indicated line. Snape followed suit, his sharp spiky signature a stark contrast to Hermione's shaky, but well curved one.

Albus picked up the sheet, sealed it with a tap of his wand, and sent it off with an owl that he had just summoned from the Owlry.

"It's settled, then."


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognise.

Untitled Story

Chapter 2

"Here we are, Miss Granger," Albus Dumbledore stated as they reached the darkest part of the dungeons, "your new home. One of the house-elves will bring your belongings down from Gryffindor Tower directly."

"Should you need anything, Miss Granger," Snape interjected, "my rooms are right down the hall." He pointed at a portrait a few doors down. "The password is wolfsbane, should you need it. I trust that I will not be interrupted except for emergencies." Sneering, he turned on one heel and stalked into his rooms, slamming the portrait behind him with a resounding thud.

Finding Albus gone, Hermione turned to explore her rooms. She noticed that there was no portrait guarding her door. _Apparently apprentices aren't good enough for protection the way staff members are,_ she thought to her self.

She set her hand on the cool doorknob and turned it, slowly pushing the door open into the room. Right away, she found herself in a small room that could pass as a living room or a study. Off on her right sat a fireplace with a desk on one side and a large bookshelf opposite it.

She gasped as her feet sank in to a luscious, shaggy carpet. Looking down, she saw that it was maroon colored, and sat over a hard-wood floor. _I guess Professor Dumbledore knows me quite well. How else could he have known this was my favorite color._

She looked up and saw a window seat nestled between two bookcases even taller than the first she'd seen. "How do they have a window in the dungeons?" she wondered aloud. Then she remembered Harry's description of the windows in the Ministry of Magic from her fifth year. _"They're charmed to look like they're outside windows, Hermione. It's really quite impressive. Mr. Weasley said that every once in a while they even get a storm!"_ She winced as Harry's voice filled her mind.

Turning left, she found still more bookshelves, and a door, presumably leading to the rest of her quarters. Hesitantly, because she had never had such a big place to herself before, she walked over to the door. Placing her hand on the handle, she pushed it open and found herself in a modestly long hallway. _At least, it's long for only one person,_ she thought.

She walked down the hall and peered into the first door on her left. It was a deep blue room with a large four poster bed with deep purple hangings. _It's just like Professor Snape's,_ she thought. Near the foot of the bed sat a wardrobe. Opening the mahogany doors, she found that all of her clothes had been brought down already.

Near the right hand side of the bed sat a small table, just the right size for her night things. It was made out of the same wood as the wardrobe, and the bed, she noticed.

She picked herself up off of the bed and walked back to the hall. Across from her room, she found a small kitchenette. _It's just the size to make a cup of tea, or a small meal when I'm too busy to get to the Great Hall._ Leaving the kitchen, she turned to the mysterious door at the end of the hallway.

Opening this door, she found herself in a huge bathroom painted a deep green-blue. A large black marble tub immediately grabbed her attention. _It's just like the Prefect's tub,_ she thought. And it was; it was just as large and had as many, if not more, handles coming out of the sides.

There was a large sink with a toilet next to it off to the right, but neither excited her as much as the tub had. "Oh, I can't wait to try that out!" she remarked. She then noticed the cold tile floor under her feet.

A knock resounded through her quarters.

"I'm coming!" she called.

Opening the door, she saw that it was Professor Dumbledore. "Hello, Miss Granger. I trust that your rooms are to your liking?"

"Oh, of course, Professor. They are just wonderful. I wish Ginny could have seen them..." She cast her eyes down as she said this.

"I just wanted to make sure you were settling in nicely. I'm glad you enjoy the rooms. If you need anything changed, please inform myself, Professor Snape, or one of the house elves, and they can fix it for you."

"Thank you, Professor." He strode out, closing the door behind him. Excited she turned to the pregnant bookshelves, eager to lighten their load.

"Hmm, 'On the Brewing of Potions,' 'Advanced Potions Ingredients and Where to Find Them,' 'Potions Theory,' 'Lead to Gold, Water to Wine: A Discourse on Alchemy and its History,' they all sound so good." She plucked the ingredients book from the shelf and sat down on the window seat. Just then, another knock sounded from the door.

"What, do they think I'll get into trouble like a first year?" she muttered under her breath. "I'm coming," she shouted, rather exasperated.

Opening the door again, she found herself staring at Professor Snape. "Professor, what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Nothing yet, Miss Granger. I was merely here to inquire as to how your rooms suited you."

"Professor Snape! Are you really caring for me?"

"Not at all, Miss. I am merely concerned with how well my apprentice is provided for."

"Oh, then. I am just fine, thank you."

"Good. I will be leaving, then. Should you need anything, I can be found just across the hall."

He turned on his heel and stalked across the hall, keeping strictly in Snape form.

"Hmph," she snorted, "I wonder what _that_ was all about."

Deciding to ignore it, she turned and settled back into her book.


End file.
